Talent, tenacity, and being on the side of what is right and decent, still count for something in this country. Just ask the retirees from IAM Local 933 in Tucson, Arizona - who formerly worked for Raytheon Missile Systems.
In an opinion released yesterday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, upheld the lower court's ruling that Raytheon retirees and their spouses have a vested right to no-cost health insurance until they reach age 65.
The ruling by the Ninth Circuit cited the collective bargaining agreements between 1990 and 1999 provided the retirees' claim to company-paid medical benefits was a vested right. As a vested benefit, the Court ruled that Raytheon could not unilaterally take away that right, regardless of what the company had written and included in plan documents.
Class Action Member Dave Lilly states , “ It takes a great load off of our shoulder knowing that the 9th Circuit has ruled in favor of our retirees, we can finally start to enjoy our retirement without worrying about sky-rocketing medical costs and how we are going to pay for them.”
Directing Business Representative James Watson added, “It has taken six long years to see this issue finally come to a positive ending. It’s a tragedy that some retirees did not live long enough to see this decision, many more of our retirees and their families still are frustrated and disappointed that Raytheon did not honor their promise made to them when they retired.”
GVP Allen applauded the ruling, saying “It is sad to think that a company can sign a contract with its’ employees, and have no intention of honoring their promise. These benefits were part of the overall compensation that the IAM negotiated with the Raytheon Company, on behalf of these workers. There was no confusion as to what the language meant. I congratulate Brother Watson, and everyone involved, for staying in this fight and demanding the fairness that our retirees have earned. This is a wonderful example of why it pays to belong to the IAM – our contracts are the finest in the industry, and our representatives are supremely dedicated to enforcing our agreements.“
Old Pueblo Lodge 933 has represented the hourly workforce at Raytheon Missile Systems/Hughes Aircraft since 1952. The IAM was founded in 1888, and represents more than 700,000 active and retired workers in North America.
